The Girl and Her Shadow
by R. J. Niner
Summary: Luo Tianyi has always been haunted by a demon that is her shadow. When Yan, her shadow, finally agrees to leave her, Tianyi finally thinks she has a chance to live the normal life she's dreamed of in the town outside the forest she lives in. However, as it so happens, reality is never quite like the happy world she's dreamed of. Genre of...creepy (maybe)? One-shot for Halloween.


In the small, ancient village of Monv, there existed a legend of a red-eyed demon who ate human flesh. Appearing only during the night when shadows have long since melted into darkness, the demon is said to steal victims away from their beds, ripping them from bone to bone, devouring every strand of muscle, every drop of blood, until only the head was left. The only possible way the villagers had been able to identify the remains of the victims was thanks to the "courtesy" of the red-eyed demon, who always made sure to return the head of the victim completely untouched, stuck amidst the pile of bones left in front of the victim's former house. Screams became a daily occurrence as family members awoke to find such a gift at their front their. The villagers had hunted for this evil monster for years but had never once caught sight of the demon, having never once dared to venture into the forest where other ungodly creatures were rumored to live.

And so it happens that this story begins deep within the forest, where a young, naïve girl lived alone with her shadow in a small, run-down hut.

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><p><em>She smacked her lips, licking the blood off her fingers as she stared down at the corpse before her, grinning into the dull, vacuous eyes of its face. Tracing a thin line around the body's neck with a single, long fingernail, she chuckled to herself, wondering how much of the neck she ought to leave with the head this time. Two inches? One? Or maybe a centimeter? A fingernail dug deep into the pallid flesh, carving out a small sample of juicy meat, before plopping it right into her mouth. She smacked her lips again, louder this time, almost drooling. It was decided. She'd only leave a millimeter. This was too good to waste.<em>

_A flash of red glittered through the pitch black forest as the demon's blade cut right through the corpses through. Her eyes glowed red once more as her grin widened into a thin, upwards curve._

Bon appétit,_ she cackled into the dark before digging into the meal._

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><p>Luo Tianyi woke up with a bitter taste in her mouth. Rubbing her eyes with her petite yet cold hands, she lazily got out of bed, wondering just what had happened this time. It didn't take long for her to find out as she stared down into the kitchen sink, a carving knife soaking in a bowl of blood red water.<p>

"Yan!" Tianyi shouted, her voice echoing through the small wooden hut. She gagged a little as she picked the knife out of the bowl, washing it quickly with water before tossing it back into the cupboards. She really should've been used to this by now, waking up to find bloodied weapons waiting for her to clean up, but even after all these years, Tianyi couldn't find herself to accept Yan for what she did.

Yan still didn't appear. Tianyi glanced around the room, slightly annoyed. The sunlight shone through the only window in the house, illuminating the room except for the thin crack under her bed.

Tianyi stalked over, her long black hair trailing behind her as she crouched down and snapped, "Yan! You killed and ate someone again, didn't you?"

Still no response. Tianyi let out a huff and pouted. Without another word, she grabbed a small mirror from her nightstand and adjusted it until the sunlight bounced off the shiny surface and underneath her bed.

"Hey! No need to resort to violence, ok, dearie?" Yan protested. Tianyi grumpily watched as the dark blob that was her shadow slid out from under her bed, climbing up the walls until it resembled the shape of a human.

"Says you," Tianyi retorted back, glaring as she watched Yan's form emerge from the shadow, stepping lightly onto firm ground. "I thought you'd agreed to stop doing this!"

"Have you ever heard of a demon keeping a promise?" Yan asked back with a yawn, already bored of the conversation. "Besides, it's not like anyone's going to come looking for revenge or anything."

"That's not the point," Tianyi sighed, crossing her arms. "You're taking away human life! Every time you kill someone, not only are you harming that person's family, I'm hurt too! I told you already, I'm sick of all this blood and gore. I don't want to see it again."

"Tianyi," Yan coaxed, going over and slinking an arm around Tianyi's shoulder. "You know very well why I have to eat people. How else am I going to stay alive?"

"Then if you can't control yourself, why don't you leave?" TIanyi grumbled, frown set. "I just want to live a normal life where I can interact with the townspeople, and yet with you here, I can't ever do that!"

Yan's grayish blue eyes flashed red for a brief moment, so quickly that Tianyi wondered if she'd imagined it. "You don't actually mean that, do you?" Yan asked, her voice suddenly weighed down by the seriousness that usually was never present.

Tianyi just ignored it as she declared, "Of course I do. I've had enough of your antics! I just want to live a normal life like how it's depicted in the books you bring me."

"You know that's just fiction, sweetie," Yan replied, tilting her head to stare at Tianyi.

"There must be some parts that are rooted in reality, right?" Tianyi argued back.

Yan stared long and hard at the young village girl before her. Finally, she lowered her head and sighed, "Why are you such a difficult child to take care of?"

"I'm not a child—"

"As I was saying," Yan cut in, purposely raising her voice as she held up a hand for Tianyi to stay silent, "I'm only trying to protect you, Tianyi, and if I leave you alone to go to the town, can you imagine what might happen?"

"I'd meet a lot of nice people?"

"Only in books."

"But most parts of books are based off of real life, right?"

Yan massaged her forehead. She stared back into Tianyi's determined eyes, only blinking every once in a while, her eyes filled with a burning passion. Yan sighed again, shaking her head.

"Fine then," Yan complied. "If you want me to leave so much, that's what I'll do."

It took a second for Tianyi to react. "Wait… really?" Tianyi exclaimed, all her previous anger flying out the window and replaced with an enthusiasm that knew no bounds.

"Yes," Yan agreed rather reluctantly. "I…I really don't think this is a good idea, trying to cut this tie I have with you, but if it really hurts you that much, I suppose I can leave."

"Really?" Tianyi exclaimed, tears of joy suddenly appearing in her eyes. She rushed up to Yan and gave her a tight hug. "Oh, thank you so much! You don't know how much this means to me!"

"Seriously, getting angry one moment and then super happy at the next? Why are you so strange, Tianyi?" Yan laughed, running her finger through Tianyi's hair. Her voice fell back into a serious whisper almost immediately thought, as the demon asked, "You want me to leave that much?"

"Well, no. I'm really grateful that you were there by my side all these years. It's just, I really really really don't want to see anymore bloodshed," Tianyi replied, looking up to stare at Yan's gray blue eyes. "I'm sorry, I can't repay you for everything you've done for me though."

"It's fine," Yan replied, closing her eyes thoughtfully as turned her head out the window. Her eyes suddenly snapped open again, red this time, as she turned to Tianyi and said, "But before I leave, remember this phrase. If you're ever in need of help, or you'd rather that life return to normal, just say this out loud and I'll come to you no matter where you are."

With that Yan hovered over Tianyi for a moment, whispering into her ear the spell that would summon Yan back the moment Tianyi needed her.

_Und doch habe ich allein. _

Tianyi's brow wrinkled at the words, but before she could ask Yan what it meant, her cursed shadow had always run off into the depths of the forest, lost to the world beneath the sun.

* * *

><p>Soon after Yan had left, Tianyi had dressed herself up and finally decided that it was about time she enjoyed her newfound days of freedom. She could already imagine what the town would be like. Just like in her books, they would greet her as a newcomer and welcome her with kind hospitality. Maybe she'd settle down there with her newly found friends, maybe even find a boyfriend and get married, just like in her favorite romance novels. There was so much that Tainyi was looking forward to do that she felt giddy just thinking about it. She couldn't wait any longer to see the town of her dreams.<p>

It was a short walk from her small house to the outskirts of the forest. The only reason no one had yet found her house in the woods, was simply because no one had yet dared to venture into it. Dressed in a light blue dress that matched her eyes and the blue ribbons she'd tied in her hair, Tianyi tentatively stepped out into the vast meadow before her, drinking in the sights like a newborn child so eager to take in the surround scenery. In the distance, she could pick out small houses made of stone, smoke drifting out of chimneys in lazy puffs that floated up into the skies.

She hurried along the small dirt path, still constantly looking around at her new surroundings. For a girl who'd grown up all her life in the midst of a dark forest, to now be walking a path in a meadow dotted with colorful flowers and approached by all kinds of small animals that flitted about her, such an experience was entirely new, and she was quite sure there'd never been a happier or more exciting time of her life.

"Yan is such a liar," Tianyi said to herself, delighted as a small bird flapped its wings to perch on her delicate hand. "Saying it'd be dangerous on my own. I'm perfectly fine here, right, little birdie?"

The small bluebird cocked its head to one side before ruffling its feathers and taking off into the skies above. Tianyi giggled and waved after it, watching as it took off in the direction of the forest with a flock of its own.

"It's just like what those stories described," Tianyi reflect, a cheerful bounce in her every step. She felt so light now that she was freed from her shadow. Even better than that, she was now living her own life, her own normal life, freed from all the evils Yan would always commit. She didn't dislike Yan as a person of course. All her life she'd grown up with Yan watching over her. Sometimes the white haired demon would act a bit pretentious, but Tianyi knew of Yan's caring side, the sincere smiles that she'd always give Tianyi when they were talking to each other. Which only made it all the more unforgivable that Yan would still hurt the townspeople so much.

"Seriously, why was Yan always doing things like that?" Tianyi declared out loud to the tall grass before her. "The townspeople did nothing wrong. They're just human like I am, so why did she always want to hurt them?"

Somehow, Tianyi could imagine Yan before her, cheekily responding, "Because I like it."

Not that Tianyi would ever understand what was fun about hurting people. Or how that connected to protecting others. She didn't have much time to think about though. The town was right in front of her by now. She giddily skipped over to the entrance of the town, a small wooden post that had faded letters no longer decipherable to the human eye.

Within the town, she walked town the street, almost greedily taking in the sights around her. Everyone would greet her with kind smiles, children running up to approach the newcomer to the town. Questions and chattering were the only thing that could be heard throughout the streets, all attention drawn to the beautiful stranger who'd suddenly appeared in town with a golden smile. The questions and remarks were boundless. "Where did you come from?" You're so pretty!" "Why did you come here?" "Where are your parents?" "Your eyes are so beautiful!" "Come eat with us!" "You must be hungry!"

Tianyi found herself lost for words, struggling to answer all the questions directed at her, and yet at the same time, she was overwhelmed with excitement. This was really happening. She was really starting to live a normal life in the village.

Suddenly, amidst all the hubbub, a young girl's voice rang out loud and clear, "Nee-san, why don't you have a shadow?"

A hush fell over the crowd as all eyes fell downwards to the ground, staring at Tianyi's feet. Not a hint of darkness laid near her feet, the ground eerily bright around her feet. An alarmed murmur arose through the crowds of people as Tianyi glanced from the ground around her to the people. Was there something wrong with not having a shadow? Shadows were demons after all, and now that she'd gotten rid of Yan, she'd saved the town, hadn't she?

It was only now that, glancing around, she realized that there was something wrong with this scene. Everywhere she looked, something dark was attached to each person at their feet, stretching out in front of them. A shadow.

Tianyi gasped. This town, it couldn't be…one that was full of demons, could it? They wouldn't be like Yan and attack people, would they? Tianyi felt her stomach churn.

"Why don't you have a shadow?" someone demanded, breaking Tianyi's train of thought.

"Why do you _have_ a shadow then?" Tianyi asked back, staring almost fearfully at the speaker.

"Everyone knows why. You're born with one. The law of physics doesn't let light pass through your body, so your shadow is everything that your body blocks from light. So how can you not have a shadow?"

"Oh, so shadows aren't demons? Thank goodness," Tianyi naively replied, smiling in relief to receive even harsher glares in return.

"Demons?"

"Yep," was Tianyi's cheerful answer. "I got rid of my shadow because it was the demon who kept hurting everyone. So now everyone's safe again!"

Unfortunately for Tianyi, she was completely oblivious to the widening eyes of all the people in the crowd, their vision filling with horror as the trauma of finding the head a loved one lying atop a pile of human bones suddenly consuming both mind and body.

"Y-you witch!" someone shouted through the crowd. "Your shadow was a demon? I bet you made it that way!"

Before Tianyi could find the speaker, the fury of the people was upon her.

"You just wanted to kill us all, didn't you? Get away from here!"

"Why did you let that demon kill my daughter then? Give her back to me!"

"Yeah, give our family and friends back you witch!"

"You should go to hell!"

"Give her the punishment she deserves!"

"Let's kill the witch!"

The witch. The witch. All around her, people were talking about witches. She had an uneasy feeling that they were all talking about her. But why would she be a witch? She had helped them? Hadn't she? Hadn't she?

A barrage of small pebbles smacked Tianyi in the face before she could confidently assure herself that she was the rightful savior. "Go to hell, you witch!" children and adults were screaming. "Leave us alone! Don't you dare harm us again! We'll give you your punishment for sure. You'll regret everything you did!"

Hands were reaching out for Tianyi, grabbing her arms, clawing at her skin. Tianyi's shouts of protests, her arguments, her desperate pleading to prove her innocent were lost amongst the crowd as she was tied down and dragged all the way to the prison cells.

"Please, listen to me! I'm not the one who harmed you!" Tianyi cried out, grabbing the attention of one of the people who was dragging her along.

All she got was a cold, furious glare. "As if we'll ever believe you, you witch," came the snarl. "We'll make sure you wished you never tried to hurt any of us in the first place!"

Another stone pebble came barreling from nowhere, hitting Tianyi right in the forehead. Her breath caught in her throat as a sharp pain exploded in her head, and everything went black.

* * *

><p>For days on after, the only sound that could be heard all over were the screams of the "witch" that'd been caught. Tianyi flitted in and out of consciousness throughout her imprisonment, waking only to still find menacing eyes glaring down out her, ready to perform another whipping or make more scars in her now deathly pale skin. As the week droned on, Tianyi began to react less and less to the pain as it went on. What was the point in screaming anymore? The outcome would always be the same, and Tianyi no longer found there to be a reason for her to react at all to the townspeople's treatment. By now, she'd already lost sight of her original dream of a normal life. Was this normal? It wasn't, not in one bit. Getting seen as a witch simply because of the townspeople's fear of her lack of a shadow had led to this horrible outcome. It could've been Yan's fault, but for some reason, Tianyi felt like it wasn't. Yan had wanted to stay with her, to protect her, to shield her from all this. It was her own fault for not listening, for deciding to trust the stories written by humans, humans who were too evil and indulgent in their own desires to ever see the truth. That was what Tianyi had learned, and that was what now consumed her thoughts. How evil humans were, and how they were the one's who needed to be punished instead. So Tianyi fell silent as the victim. She would wait to collect the broken pieces of her soul until the day she got her revenge.<p>

Eventually, the townspeople got tired of this endless torture. What was the point? The hated "witch" wasn't going to resurrect the dead. No, torture wasn't a fitting punishment for such an evil monster, especially since Tianyi stopped reacting to all the pain being inflicted on her.

Death was the only way to make a witch suffer the most, the town decided, so they gathered up the fire wood, tied the witch to a stake, and set the wood on fire, everyone watching as the fire gobbled up the firewood and began to wrap itself around Tianyi's weakened and batter body.

Just as the flames began to lick the skin of Tianyi's arms, as Tianyi gazed out over the crowds wondering just why did she deserve all this, she recalled the spell that Yan had left her.

_Und doch habe ich allein._

Suddenly, the meaning of those words had never been more clearer. This is what Yan had predicted. This is what she'd warned Tianyi about. The suspicion that filled the townspeople, their hatred of outsiders, the cruel reality behind a world of fantasy, Yan had predicted that all this might happen, and yet it was Tianyi's own fault for not heeding the warnings. She couldn't help but let a smile appear on her lips. Where was Yan now? Certainly, she was far off from this despicable village, laughing at how foolish Tianyi had been, right?

She could hear the whispers from the villagers watching her burn to death.

"See that? The demon's smiling!"

"Smiling even in the face of death? You could expect no more from a demon."

Tianyi lifted her head, her eyes straining to catch a glimpse of the sky now deepening into a sunken blue. Still, Yan had given her the spell for a reason probably. She was out there, somewhere in the night, waiting to be summoned, and with Tianyi's once gentle and naïve heart now shredded to pieces, there was only one thing to do.

"Und doch habe ich allein," Tianyi whispered to the moonless night. _And yet I'm still alone._

A gush of wind suddenly dosed out the flames on the stake. As the crowd stumbled backwards, hushed whispers grew into full-out panic as all eyes fell on the red-eyed demon who hovered in midair, eyes crackling with malice as her short, white hair rippled in the wind.

Yan shot each and every villager with a deadly, piercing glare as she snarled, "You worthless scumbags, doing something like this to my dear, precious Tianyi, you better prepare for your demise, you fucking bastards!"

The whole village feel into a hushed silence of pure shock, unable to move under the menacing gaze of the demon. Ignoring them, Yan cradled the young girl in her arms, tenderly running her slim fingers through Tianyi's knotted hair.

"Now do you see what I warned you about, my dear?" Yan said in a soft tone, smiling as kindly as a demon could at the girl.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, Yan. I shouldn't have sent you away," Tianyi mumbled back, snuggling up against Yan's warm body. It was strange indeed, how this was the most warmth she'd felt this entire week, how a demon was warmer than a crowd of humans.

"What's done is done," Yan said, eyes darting back to the masses of flesh down below on the earth. A sly smile formed on her lips as she said, "Perhaps, you'd rather tell me how you'd like me to dispose of such trash then?"

The sneer that began to form on Tianyi's face was all too evident as she followed Yan's gaze, her dark gray eyes flashing a vivid, bloody red. She licked her lips and snickered, "Oh, we'll do much more than dispose of them."

* * *

><p>From that day on, the village of Monv became a evil place that no one dared to go near. Every person in the kingdom knew of the legend of the human-eating witch and her faithful red-eyed demon servant, and none were foolish enough to see whether or not the legend were true or not.<p>

Of course, if you ever feel like becoming a nice, decorative side dish of a lavish meal, the witch town of Luo Tianyi shall forever welcome you with open arms.

_Teeheehee. _( Failed attempt at creepy laugh. XP)

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><p><strong>AN: Happy (belated) Halloween! I write too slow to make holiday deadlines… If this story stopped making sense at some point, feel free to make me rework this. Being half asleep while stuffed on candy isn't a good state of mind to be in when writing.**

**Story's based off the song Girl and Shadow by DanC ft. Luo Tianyi, but if you were to look for it, I doubt you'd find anything but Chinese subtitles. But whether you understand it or not, you ought to give it a listen (since I gave you the basic plot already hahahaha. Aren't I awesome (Nope)). **

**Some minor things about the story. The spell was taken from the music video, and seeing how most online translations are inaccurate, I gave it my best interpretation. The town's name "Monv" is Chinese pinyin on the keyboard for "witch." I also used Yan He as the demon to better differentiate the shadow from the girl. I skipped the ways Tianyi decides to "dispose" of the villagers. In case you were wondering, it was something about eating ****pickled human meat, locking naked people up with wild animals and letting people run off with their feet cut off. I decided that I really didn't need to elaborate on that further, especially not when I'm feeling sick from food... **

**Anyways hanks for reading! If you went trick or treating and got a ton of candy, just don't eat too much candy. You might get sick like I did…**


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